I recently visited Ft Sumner New Mexico, where Billy the Kid was shot by Pat Garrett. The shooting took place at the old fort on the Pecos River, a place which had been used to hold imprisoned Navajos from Arizona, a place they called Bosque Redondo. This was the destination of the legendary Trail of Tears, the forced march of the Navajo in 1862. The Indians had been forced to erect adobe barracks and outbuildings, and Army carpenters had built a large frame officer's quarters there. Hundreds of Indians died at Bosque Redondo, or on the march to it, and were buried in mass graves there. After the Army abandoned Ft Sumner, a friend of Billy the Kid bought it to use as a ranch, and it was while hiding out there that Billy was killed.

Now there is a National Park Service building on the site. The atmosphere in the area is quiet but uneasy,as if you stopped and listened closely, you might hear whispering. I had just hiked around the area and decided to visit the bathroom before climbing back on my motorcycle. As I pushed open the door, I heard the sound of tap water rushing into the basin. I prepared myself to step around the person at the sink as I rounded the corner, heard the tap shut off...but there was no one there. I later asked the Ranger about it, and he said "I haven't heard of that before, but a lot of strange things happen here. Many people find they can't last the night at the campground by the river, they hear voices speaking a strange language, which Native American campers have described as Navajo."

Was it the ghost of a Navajo refugee from the grim days of the Army Fort? Or maybe Billy or Pat, trying to wash the blood off their hands?